Hand-held cellphone ban passed by committee

Drivers would be banned from using hand-held cellphones under a bill approved unanimously yesterday by the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, an important early step as advocates try to revive a measure that has stalled in the past.

Proponents of the ban, which would make Massachusetts the 10th state to prohibit even holding a cellphone while driving, say they want to finish the work they started with 2010’s Safe Driving Law.